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There have been multiple articles in the Los Angeles Times and different online sources about rate increases, health care reform and what it all means. The kicker is, on the health care reform front, no one really knows because it hasn’t all been figured out.

David Lazarus’s article in the Times yesterday about a woman’s rates increasing with Blue Shield is happening all over. Blue Shield, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, Health Net, they are all having ‘rate actions.’ And since most of my business is with the first three, I’m busy trying to move my folks around.

What makes it difficult at this point is that big unknown called health care reform. Anthem is not quoting anything after September 22, because the reform rules are taking effect September 23. Other carriers are saying according t one of my sources, that they don’t have to comply until either October 1 or January 1. So who are you to believe?

Aetna and Cigna have come out and said they won’t be doing ‘child only’ policies after October 1 because the rule about ‘no pre-existing conditions’ goes into place September 23 if you are under age 19. I’m very curious to see what that is going to do to rates for people with kids on their plans. Supposedly, you wouldn’t be able to ask any health related questions which determines conditions, which determines whether they will be accepted and at what rates. And you don’t think the carriers are really going to ‘low ball’ this, do you?